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“A celebration would be one of the most foolish things I could possibly do right now,” said Jackson.

“You’re much more uptight than I remember,” said Parson. “Is that your wife’s influence?”

“Are you trying to annoy me?” said Jackson. “I don’t see why. You usually do it so effortlessly.”

That pulled a barking laugh out of Overra. ‘I’m glad to see that biting wit of yours hasn’t changed. You’ll have to forgive Parson. I think he’s somehow getting stupider with age.’

Parson just frowned.

‘One could argue that Abolish is at its most dangerous after taking a major loss like this,’ she went on. ‘I’m sure they’ll be feeling the need to reciprocate. And soon, too. Else the balance of power will begin to shift in our favor. And Dozer can’t very well let that happen.’

She was right, Parson knew. Morgunov was about as predictable as a lottery that used imaginary numbers, but Dozer, at least, would certainly not take this lying down. Gunther and Dunhouser had both belonged to him. Their deaths would undoubtedly leave a power vacuum that many of Dozer’s other men would be looking to fill, and what better way to distinguish oneself in their master’s eyes than through battle?

There was no need to voice his concerns, though. Overra had it covered, and besides, he was supposed to be the stupid one.

“The only question is where Dozer will strike,” said Jackson.

‘Certainly not here,’ said Overra. ‘Trying to retake Horsht from you would be messy, at best, and draw Sermung’s attention, at worst. If I were him, I’d redouble my efforts to seize Korgum.’

Doubtful, Parson figured. While it was true that finally getting a hold of Korgum would certainly make up for losing Horsht, it would still be a long shot. At the moment, winning that territory meant courting Chaos itself.